Game Freak Hiring New Game Developers: Is ‘Pokémon Stars’ For The Nintendo Switch On The Way?

Even before the NX became the Switch, which has now been released after many bouts of speculation, the Pokémon Company confirmed that the console will have Pokémon games, come what may. It looks like Game Freak is beginning to fulfill such a promise.

Game Freak Posts 2 New Job Listings

The company has reportedly posted new job opportunities online, placing adverts for new developers to join its team to create a new console game. This console game may or may not be Pokémon Stars, the unofficial title many believe will be a spin-off to latest Pokémon entries Sun and Moon, with Stars neatly sliding into the theme of celestial bodies.

The positions, recently posted on job listing site Indeed hold a few hints that might point to a brand-new Pokémon game. First off, Game Freak is looking for a "new title character modeler" to create "toon-like person, monster, item models," as reported by Polygon. One of the requirements is for the applicant to have experience with developing for Wii U and the PlayStation Vita.

The second position, this time for a character designer, drops a bit more clues than the first one.

"An opportunity to be involved in the development of the worldwide popular RPG," states the job listing, which could very well allude to Pokémon — what else, right? The listing goes on to state the title the applicants will be working on "has been released for a long time" and that the development is already well-established.

Both positions, interestingly, include contracts that will expire in May 2018.

Pokémon Stars?

Whether the two positions are indeed for a new Pokémon game for the Switch or not, there will definitely be games for the console. In fact, The Pokémon Company's chief executive, Tsunekazu Ishihara, went on record to state that the company needs to rethink its strategy to make mainline Pokémon games for the console.

Pokémon For The Nintendo Switch

The thing is, there has never been a "proper" Pokémon games for home consoles, and "proper" in this context means having the qualities of mainline entries, such as going on adventures, following a set narrative, attempting to collect all Pokémon — the whole nine yards, basically. These type of Pokémon games fit well into handheld platforms such as the DS, since these games are meant to be played outdoors, given its trading, battling, and other similar features.

But the Switch is a home console that doubles as a handheld, so it's safe to assume that The Pokémon Company can regard it as one and make a proper entry for it. That said, Pokémon, deny it or not, is a system-seller. X and Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and Sun and Moon are some of the best-selling 3DS games of all time. It's not difficult to imagine that Pokémon entries will help the Switch sell like hotcakes.

Time, however, will tell.

The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console announced late October and was released on March 3 for $299. It's proving to be a very popular console for Nintendo, the kind of fanfare it needs to recover from its Wii U slump. Nintendo has reportedly sold 1.5 million Switch units already — and counting. This means that it has already sold three-fourths of its entire allocation for March alone. As a result, Nintendo is reportedly doubling Switch production.